Velocity Clinical Research, the leading multi-specialty clinical sites business, announced it has expanded into Poland, acquiring its first site, ClinMedica Research. Located in Skierniewice, which is halfway between Warsaw and Lodz, the site marks the first in a series of key acquisitions targeted by the company in Poland by year’s end.
In addition to being one of Poland’s top recruiting sites in cardiology trials, ClinMedica also recruits patients across a broad range of therapeutic areas involving ambulatory medicine. Led by Grzegorz Kania, MD, the site has an excellent reputation for quality recruitment and exceptional patient care. The site is recognized as one of the best research facilities in the country by Sponsors and contract research organizations (CROs).
Dominic Clavell, European General Manager for Velocity, commented, “Velocity began its European expansion in July 2022 and is showing no signs of slowing down. Poland is a strategic market for us since it is recognized by the biopharmaceutical companies and CROs as a top recruiting country, supported by a government that understands the benefits commercial clinical trials bring to communities.
“The acquisition of ClinMedica is the first step to building a network of high quality dedicated research sites in Poland. It also increases our regional footprint and is another point in our journey to reach critical mass in the U.K. and Europe, meaning Velocity will be able to conduct entire studies on our own with geographical diversity.”
Agnieszka Gackowska, MD, who was previously Global Head Site Solutions at Parexel and is a qualified physician, has joined Velocity as Vice President and Country Head, Poland, to lead the company’s expansion.
Dr. Gackowska said, “Velocity’s expansion into Poland allows us to think globally but act locally when it comes to clinical research. Not enough people in smaller cities have the opportunity or access to clinical research, which could be their only lifeline to innovative treatments.
“Importantly, the presence of a global company that puts patient care at the heart of everything it does, means there are now more career opportunities for local doctors so we do not lose Polish talent to larger markets.”
Velocity operates an integrated site network of more than 80 locations across four countries, including the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Poland, and has a tech hub in Hyderabad, India. The Polish site joins five locations in the U.K. and four in Germany.
Velocity has access to more than 220 principal investigators across a range of therapeutic areas and a database of more than one million patients. Its sites are fully integrated via a centralized infrastructure and common technology backbone, allowing for superior patient enrollment and consistent, high-quality data delivery. As a result, Sponsors and CROs can benefit from simplified access to international clinical research capabilities.
About Velocity Clinical Research
Velocity is the leading integrated site organization for clinical trials. With 80 sites and more than 220 investigators, Velocity partners with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to research new drugs, medical devices, diagnostics, and combination products that could improve human health and wellbeing. Velocity offers unified research site solutions to efficiently provide the right patients, investigators, and research staff for clinical trials across the U.S. and Europe.
The company also operates a technology hub in India, where it is unlocking a new era in clinical research by developing innovative systems to leverage expansive site, patient, and historical performance data. To learn more about how Velocity delivers high-quality data, exemplary patient care, and unprecedented efficiency for clinical trials at any scale, visit VelocityClinical.com.
About ClinMedica Research
ClinMedica Research provides clinical research and specialized medical care. ClinMedica began conducting clinical research in 2000 and is fueled by the passion and willingness to search for innovative therapeutic solutions and the latest treatments for patients. It has completed over 350 studies and currently treats more than 18,000 patients as part of its primary health care services and approximately 25,000 thousand patients as outpatient specialist care. Conducting clinical research across a range of therapeutic areas, it is focused on expanding its research capabilities in ophthalmology and oncology. For more information, visit clinmedicaresearch.com.
About Agnieszka Gackowska, MD
Agnieszka Gackowska, MD is a senior leader and physician with nearly three decades experience working in the pharmaceuticals industry, including global CRO and pharmaceutical companies in both regional and global positions. Dr. Gackowska has led international teams dedicated to clinical trials management, product launch, market access, marketing, and sales. She currently consults on research sites models and is a postgraduate lecturer for studies dedicated to clinical trials at several medical universities in Poland.
About Grzegorz Kania, MD
Grzegorz Kania, MD specializes in cardiology as well as internal and family medicine. In 2000, he founded Centrum Medyczne Ogrodowa, which is the largest outpatient clinic in Skierniewice, Poland, before he founded ClinMedica Research in 2016 as a dedicated research center. He has been a co-investigator and principal investigator in approximately 300 clinical trials in the field of cardiology and internal diseases.
Published in several medical journals, his work has contributed to some of the most recent academic thinking on cardiovascular treatments. He holds a medical degree from the Medical University of Lodz and did postgraduate studies in clinical research management at the Medical University of Lublin. His wife and two daughters are also in the medical field.
